Man Bites Dog (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

A shocking, brutal satire of journalistic ethics. Sound boring? Oh, but it's not - the phrasing is just awkward. A documentary crew follows the exploits of Benoit, a gregarious, witty, serial-killing sociopath. Charming, chummy and magnanimous when he gets his way and venomous, pouty and bitter when he does not. The crew knows this story is golden, regardless of how many of them are placed in harm's way. At first, they are merely comfortable filming his acts - assaults, murders, dumping bodies. (That they feel they do not have any ethical obligation to stop these acts is apparent within the first minute of the film.) But then it moves beyond that. The crew itself is in the footage, grinning and laughing. After all, why just stand on the sidelines when you have a sensational story? But this film does not get itself bogged down by lengthy discussions about right and wrong, etc. Each heinous act recorded testifies to the wilful contempt the crew shows for human life so much so that, by the end, Benoit seems the most decent and consistent of the bunch. Benoit Poelvoorde (who plays Benoit) gives an electrifying performance that totally engrosses the viewer while the cast of the crew dart in and out in front of the camera, each time more depraved than the last. A terrific film that shows how destructive journalism can become when the difference between responsibility and exploitation no longer matters.

Great morbid flick that was a huge influence on Fred Vogel. I truly enjoy this movie and it has become kinda a comfort food for me. Watch it a few times a year. Criterion did a bang up job with the transfer. Looks great

A masterfully done dark mockumentary that foreshadowed the rise of reality TV in a rubbernecking culture fascinated by bad people behaving badly, where bad behavior is rewarded via more attention, higher ratings, and greater revenue. Like “Funny Games” (1997), which is the most disturbing movie I’ve ever seen, it also catches the viewer in their complicity in the rubbernecking culture of violence. The casual nature of the violence is (again, like in “Funny Games”) so disturbing. To add to that, in this film the violence is some of the most realistically portrayed violence I’ve seen in a movie.

Standard directorial mistake: apply the satire with such complete remorselessness that the audience never has a chance to realize the humor, thus missing the satire. In this case many reviewers appear to have missed it as well.Spoiler: Story revolves around a serial killer, and the celebration of the killer by the media. A film crew accompanies him, documents his crimes for later publication. When they run short of funds, he goes on a killing spree to generate money for his own biography. When the film crew get killed in their pursuit of the story, everything moves on without skipping a beat.It's actually quite a humorous concept: the photographer is shot and rather than call for help, the faux director picks up the camera and continues filming. The mockery of the media in it's celebration of violation (through visual depiction of the violence) is effective material. But instead of a too-hard punch in the shoulder, the point is driven like a dagger to a vital organ. Viewers are mainly so offended they lack the perspective to realize the comedy within the tragedy.If you choose to watch this film, do so realizing that it mocks serial killer sand the media for celebrating them; it's not actually a celebration of the violence. Sad to think I have to announce that point, but hey.

It's a pretty good movie. If you've been drinking with the right people who're onto all of the verite cliches, it's a fun movie. With my crowd, it's a do shots when shots are fired kind of movie. Bonus points for slamming a beer when they murder and then rape the dead, disemboweled body of the suburban housewife.What gets overlooked is that it's a bloodthirsty little piece of satire that's willing to get ugly to make a point about the moral culpability of an audience.Hilarious stuff, but not for beginners.

Ok I going to start off my reviews like all the others I am in no way any kind of movie critic I love watching movies and to read some of these reviews I am totally amazed on the detail etc etc well don't expect that here or on any of my other reviews ok that been said and out of the way I thought the movie was good but kind of slow a lot of people get killed so that's what I liked about it I looked up on line all disgusting and disturbing movies ever made and this was included on the list soooo I got it

Terrifying, and funny. We didn't have enough grasp of French to really appreciate the jokes. Mocks documentaries, action films, news, cinema verite. I think this is to cinema verite what Blazing Saddles was for the Western.

There is something to be said about fake documentaries, especially if they're done well: This Is Spinal Tap, Blair Witch, etc. This one beats them all. Shocking, funny, you find yourself laughing and feel guilty about it later on. A movie is supposed to illicit some type of feeling in a person. A movie making you feel guilty about an emotional response is remarkable, and speaks volumes about emotions in general.(...)This movie is very entertaining and will have you thinking about it for months after watching. Too bad it's not on DVD.Maybe later on.

Sensitive viewers might find this film bizarre or shocking but I loved the black humour and laughed a lot as each scene unfolded. I particularly liked a scene near the beginning where the assassin is dumping a body off a railway bridge into a river and a train goes past. He makes no attempt to hide what he's doing as if everything was perfectly normal.The film takes the extraordinary and makes it ordinary.It wasn't so great the second time I watched it.Definately worthwhile though.

Man Bites Dog is an unrelenting, brutal work of self-awareness and one that will be hard to forget.The film is packed with dark humor with a straight faced delivery of absurd accounts and circumstances.Not for the faint of heart.

When I first saw this I wondered if it was real as the acting is so good it looks like a genuine documentary about a guy killing people in different way whilst being filmed by a documentary crew. The most shocking scene for me was how he kills a pensioner in her own apartment and the way he disposes of the bodies. You will despise him by the end of the film. Showed it to someone else who said it was the most disturbing thing they had ever witnessed.

Liked the film

Excellent transfer